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Your intrepid blogger did not make it out to Central Committee tonight, but multiple people present are reporting that Deputy District Attorney Karen Lee Schatzle has won the Republican Party of Orange County’s endorsement in her bid to unseat Superior Court Judge Scott Steiner.

The vote was 24-7 to endorse Schatzle after the Endorsements Committee had recommended no endorsement.

With absentee ballots already out, Schatzle will need to move quickly if she is going to make voters aware of this endorsement.

I live-blogged the Orange County CRA Endorsing Convention in this prior post, but I’ve been asked to put a condensed list of the results of the Orange County CRA Endorsing Convention. So here they are:

The OC GOP Central Committee is convened in a special meeting tonight to consider early endorsements for Assemblyman Ling-Ling Chang for the 29th Senate District (being vacated by the termed out Bob Huff), Assemblywoman Young Kim for re-election in the 65th Assembly District, and Supervisor Andrew Do for re-election in the 1st Supervisorial District.

7:15 PM: Chairman Fred Whitaker spoke about the OC GOP’s priorities in key State and County seats. County GOP endorsements are required before California Republican Party resources can help a candidate. In SD-29, that requires three county parties: Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino. In AD-65, it only requires Orange.

7:21 PM: Do spoke of his 43-vote victory over front runner Lou Correa earlier this year. He spoke of the importance of the OC GOP endorsement in the special election against Correa. He spoke of having an all-Republican Board of Supervisors. He spoke of his seat having a 12% Democratic registration advantage. He reminded the OC GOP of union expenditures from the special election. He spoke of his efforts for transparency, fiscal responsibility, and public safety.

7:25 PM: Whitaker asked if there were any questions.

7:26 PM: Supervisor Todd Spitzer praisee Supervisor Do as an excellent and honorable member of the Board of Supervisors.

7:27 PM: Do said he works with Probation to keep track of trends and take action when there are spikes in crime in local areas.

7:28 PM: Allan Bartlett thanked Do for his efforts against redevelopment.

7:29 PM: Do endorsed unanimously 45-0.

7:30 PM: Whitaker reads a letter from Congressman Ed Royce that describes how she is an anti-tax, pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment Republican legislator.

7:31 PM: Young Kim thanks the OC GOP for its efforts last year to defeat Sharon Quirk-Silva and break the Democrats’ 2/3 supermajority in the State Assembly. She speaks of fighting against new taxes. She says she cast over 2,400 votes as an Assemblymember. She says she has a pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, and pro-taxpayer record. She says she has an
“A” rating from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. She says she helped stop $30 billion in tax increases. She notes she has to vote to represent her constituents. She warns she is the #1 target set, and Democrats have $16 million for Assembly seats across the State. She warns that Sharon Quirk-Silva has $350,000 cash on hand while Kim has $450,000 cash on hand. Kim spent $2.2 million in 2014 while Quirk-Silva spent $4.5 million.

7:37 PM: Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang asked when did Quirk-Silva began her campaign to unseat Kim.

7:38 PM: Kim stated that the day she was sworn in, the Speaker of the Assembly started seeking an Asian candidate to unseat Kim. In March, the Democrats gave up on finding an Asian challenger and backed a new bid by Quirk-Silva.

7:40 PM: Kim stated vaccinations were a very personal decision. Kim spoke of her daughter’s two brain surgeries and compromised immune system.

She stated on redevelopment, she expressed concern to the redevelopment bill’s author, Assemblyman Luis Alejo, on property rights and eminent domain. Alejo assured her he would fix those items. She voted for the bill based on Alejo’s promise to fix the bill. When the bill returned to the Assembly for a concurrence vote, she did not vote for it because the promise was not kept.

On asset forfeiture, she said she spoke to law enforcement in her district who stated the asset forfeiture bill would make it more difficult for law enforcement to fight crime.

7:44 PM: Alexandria Coronado says she received 26 emails in opposition to Kim on redevelopment and vaccinations. She stated the running theme on the emails was that she was not responsive to their concerns.

7:45 PM: Kim explained that she had scheduled a meeting with the group in question but ran into conflict with the legislative busy period. She tried to reschedule, but the bill vote occurred before this rescheduled meeting could take place during the very rapid end-of-session period when she was required to be in Sacramento and could not get down to the district. She offered to meet with them now and left voicemails with them.

7:51 PM: Kim stated the resolution, which did not have the force of law, recognized the contributions of all people, including LGBT individuals. She noted the California Republican Party’s chartering of the Log Cabin Republicans. She stated she voted for tolerance and inclusiveness.

7:52 PM: Allan Bartlett asked about asset forfeiture.

7:53 PM: Kim stated she voted her conscience in the interests of her district.

7:55 PM: Stanton Councilman David Shawver supported Kim, speaking of how hardworking Kim is. He spoke of the party’s resources, including time, manpower, and money, spent to keep the 65th Assembly District seat. He calls for the party to unify behind Kim to keep the seat. He said she has repeatedly and consistently been a fixture in the district.

7:58 PM: Zonya Townsend proposed delaying Kim’s early endorsement, citing her vote on SB 277, the vaccination bill, preferring a later endorsement. She stated many Democrats left their party over SB 277. Townsend argued the OC GOP resolution was contrary to Kim’s position. She criticized Kim for speaking on the Assembly Floor in favor of SB 277.

8:00 PM: Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang spoke of Kim being the only candidate who could defeat Quirk-Silva. She warned that Quirk-Silva is everywhere and that Quirk-Silva would be a far, far worse vote in the Assembly. She plead for people to look at the bigger picture. She warned that Democrats would spend millions in a presidential election year to capture the 65th Assembly District seat.

8:02 PM: Mike Glenn stated property rights are important. He said law enforcement should not take people’s assets, their property. He stated people should have the right to do what they want with their own body, and cited the vaccination bill. He said eminent domain threatens property rights. He stated he wanted to delay Kim’s endorsement, not oppose it.

8:04 PM: Assemblyman Matt Harper warned that Quirk-Silva is a hard worker who believes she is a little Loretta Sanchez. He called Quirk-Silva a true believer in liberalism. Harper stated Kim is one of the most capable members of articulating conservative positions making liberals wince. Harper stated people are quibbling with literally just a handful of votes.

8:07 PM: Supervisor Todd Spitzer raised a point of inquiry about what would a delay accomplish.

8:08 PM: Ed Gunderson said he agreed with Kim on 80%-90% of issues. Gunderson attacked the California Republican Party’s decision to charter the Log Cabin Republicans. He stated his concern of Kim contacting law enforcement on the civil forfeiture bill. He criticized her vaccination vote.

8:10 PM: Lake Forest Mayor Scott Voigts made a point of inquiry noting that 5 votes out of 2,400 means 99.9% of her votes are not being criticized.

8:11 PM: Kim overwhelmingly endorsed for re-election with 43 votes.

8:13 PM: Whitaker described the 29th Senate District, including Democrats moving Sukhee Kang from Irvine to run for the seat.

8:15 PM: Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang spoke of giving up a safe Republican Assembly seat to run for a target Senate seat. She spoke of having reduced legislative tenure under the new term limits by switching houses. She spoke of her conservative record in Sacramento.

8:17 PM: McCurdy asked Chang about her votes on redevelopment and civil asset forfeiture. He asked if she endorsed or contributed to Democrats or if she is pro-life.

8:18 PM: Chang pointed out she voted against the redevelopment bill on concurrence. She stated that due process was still in place on civil asset forfeiture. She stayed she has never endorsed a Democrat in a partisan race and that she is personally pro-life.

The Registrar of Voters certified the 37th Senate District Special Election on Friday night, John Moorlach took the oath of office yesterday afternoon, and he will be on the Senate Floor at his desk for the first time at 2:00 PM today while Don Wagner will be back on the Assembly Floor at 12:00 PM today.

We’ve all seen the official results districtwide, with Moorlach avoiding a runoff by 199 votes:

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Completed Precincts: 248 of 248

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

38,125

50.3%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

33,411

44.0%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

2,621

3.5%

Louise Stewardson (W)

1,696

2.2%

Besides both being conservative Republican legislators from Orange County, there’s something else Moorlach and Wagner have in common: their most recent constituents like them. In the 37th Senate District special election, Moorlach won the 2nd Supervisorial District while Wagner won the 68th Assembly District. Turnout in the 2nd Supervisorial District was 16.8% while turnout in the 68th Assembly District was 15.0%.

Winner by city or unincorporated area in the 37th Senate District Special Election. (Note: the sizes of their heads have nothing to do with their vote margin in that community, it’s just the geographic size of the community that did it. Laguna Woods and Laguna Beach are very oddly-shaped cities.)

The 68th, the 2nd, and Neutral Territory

In the 68th Assembly District (Anaheim Hills, Lake Forest, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, and the northeastern 1/3 of Irvine), Wagner defeated Moorlach by almost the identical percentage (5.3%) that Moorlach beat Wagner overall in the 37th Senate District (6.3%). (For those who care to an incredible level of detail, the charts are near the bottom of this post.)

In the 2nd Supervisorial District (Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Newport Beach), Moorlach beat Wagner by a whopping 20.6%.

In the neutral territory outside the 68th and the 2nd (Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, and the southwestern 2/3 of Irvine), Wagner defeated Moorlach by a large 18.5% margin. (To add insult to injury for Naz Namazi, write-in candidate Louise Stewardson beat her in these areas.) In a testament to how fed up voters were with negative campaigning, it was in these areas where Stewardson and Namazi did the best, getting a combined 8.9% here as opposed to 5.4% in the 2nd and 4.5% in the 68th since there was no “favorite son” candidate in these areas.

Moorlach’s Newport Beach-Costa Mesa Landslide

Moorlach’s margin of victory in his hometown of Costa Mesa was a whopping 25.4% (1,712 votes) and in Newport Beach, it was an even larger 27.9% (2,996 votes).

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach combined to give Moorlach 4,708 more votes than Wagner. Districtwide, Moorlach defeated Wagner by 4,714 votes. In other words, without Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, Moorlach would have been ahead of Wagner by just 6 votes, and obviously, there would have been a run-off.

Moorlach also held on to the other 2nd District city, Huntington Beach, by a margin of 7.3% (599 votes).

Moorlach Won Portions of the 68th While Holding All of the 2nd

There were three critical areas where Moorlach broke into Wagner’s home turf: Anaheim Hills, Villa Park, and Silverado. Had Wagner been able to stop the Moorlach incursion into those three areas of the 68th Assembly District, there would have been a run-off.

The Anaheim Hills votes are interesting in that Moorlach beat Wagner by 76 votes in Anaheim Hills overall, but Wagner beat Moorlach by 7 votes in the 39th Congressional District. The only portions of the 39th Congressional District that overlap with SD-37 are in Anaheim Hills. Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait endorsed Moorlach and did a robocall for him. Congressman Ed Royce endorsed Wagner, did a robocall for him, and was listed on Wagner’s mail as an endorser.

It appears Tait managed to push Anaheim Hills out of the 68th District’s generally pro-Wagner voting pattern, but Royce was able to push his Congressional District back into Wagner’s column. This war of endorsements from popular elected officials and of campaign mail probably explains why Anaheim Hills was the closest city in the entire district. (We can rule out most precinct walking operations since the “Hills” name is very, very apt compared to the rest of the relatively flat SD-37.)

In spite of all the union independent expenditures against Moorlach and/or for Wagner, Moorlach actually won the liberal City of Laguna Beach and the flag-banning precincts of UC Irvine.

Tables Galore

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

68th Assembly District Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

17,213

50.4%

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

15,418

45.1%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

1,192

3.5%

Louise Stewardson (W)

360

1.0%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

2nd Supervisorial District Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

15,633

57.6%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

10,030

37.0%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

815

3.0%

Louise Stewardson (W)

651

2.4%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Excluding 68th Assembly District and 2nd Supervisorial District Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

7,963

54.8%

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

5,279

36.3%

Louise Stewardson (W)

685

4.7%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

614

4.2%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Costa Mesa Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

3,979

59.1%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

2,267

33.7%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

254

3.8%

Louise Stewardson (W)

234

3.5%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Newport Beach Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

6,651

61.9%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

3,655

34.0%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

263

2.4%

Louise Stewardson (W)

177

1.7%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Excluding Costa Mesa and Newport Beach Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

27,495

47.1%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

27,489

47.1%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

2,104

3.6%

Louise Stewardson (W)

1,285

2.2%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Huntington Beach Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

4,188

50.6%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

3,589

43.3%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

264

3.2%

Louise Stewardson (W)

240

2.9%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Anaheim Hills Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

2,579

48.4%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

2,503

46.9%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

205

3.8%

Louise Stewardson (W)

46

0.9%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Villa Park Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

651

60.8%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

396

37.0%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

23

2.2%

Louise Stewardson (W)

0

0.0%

STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term

Silverado Precincts

Vote Count

Percentage

JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP)

35

58.3%

DONALD P. WAGNER (REP)

21

35.0%

NAZ NAMAZI (REP)

3

5.0%

Louise Stewardson (W)

1

1.7%

Random Trivia Not Worth a Separate Post

For anybody wondering, Moorlach will be seated in the front row on the Senate Floor and will be seatmates with Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton). Moorlach will be one of only two Republicans with a Democrat as a seatmate: the other bipartisan pair of seatmates are Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres) and Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo). Moorlach will be diagonally seated from his old colleague of eight years on the Board of Supervisors, Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove), whose seatmate is their eight-year colleague on the Board of Supervisors, Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel).

With the special election for state Senate District 37 set for March 17, the familiar lament about negative advertising fills the op-ed pages, blogs and social media sites.

He said this, she said that, he said the other thing, with each of the two front-runners denying the particular charges leveled against them.

So with all this noise, who do you believe? Who is best suited to represent the 37th Senate District in Sacramento?

The answer can be found by looking at the endorsements of the elected officials you know and trust. Assemblyman Don Wagner’s endorsements are a who’s who of Orange County conservative leaders: District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and Sheriff Sandra Hutchens both endorse him as the best candidate to keep our community safe.

Four of the five current county supervisors (Lisa Bartlett, Andrew Do, Todd Spitzer and Michelle Steel), and three of the four who served the last term with candidate John Moorlach (State Senators Janet Nguyen and Patricia Bates as well as Spitzer), have endorsed Wagner as the best candidate to work effectively in Sacramento to pass legislation that helps Orange County and California. Orange County Auditor-Controller Eric Woolery, Assessor Claude Parrish and Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen likewise endorse Wagner.

All three of Orange County’s congressional representatives, Reps. Ed Royce, Mimi Walters and Dana Rohrabacher, the vast majority of the Republican caucus in the state Assembly, and many others round out the overwhelming support Wagner enjoys among those who have worked with him and Moorlach.

The reason for this overwhelming support is simple: Wagner has a well-earned reputation for taking a common-sense approach to the problems that face Orange County and the state and, while maintaining his conservative principles, working across the aisle to get legislation passed and signed by the governor.

That is why Wagner has been recognized as the legislator of the year by the Orange County Republican Party and the Orange County Business Council and has received the Collaborative Lawmaker Award from the Association of California Cities.

Orange County needs a principled and effective leader in the state Senate, and Wagner is that candidate.

Matt Cunningham over at Anaheim Blog has had pretty thorough coverage of the mailers in the SD-37 special election. However, I think I got one in the mail yesterday that I’m pretty sure Matt couldn’t possibly have received (unless something is seriously wrong with Don Wagner’s mailer list).

(Click on each thumbnail below for a larger, readable version)

According to PDI, there are 11,980 Vietnamese voters in 7,255 houses in the 37th Senate District.

Wagner’s mailer features his endorsements from the two of the highest-ranking Vietnamese American elected officials in California: Senator Janet Nguyen and Supervisor Andrew Do. It also features the endorsement of Congressman Ed Royce, who is popular in the Vietnamese community.

Wagner’s mailer also hits on three issues near and dear to Vietnamese voters: small business, education/affirmative action, and taxes.

The Vietnamese vote is truly up for grabs as John Moorlach and Don Wagner have similar name ID. At the Orange County bankruptcy in 1994, there was one Vietnamese American elected official in the country (not county, country), and the Vietnamese community has become much more engaged in politics since then, but the Orange County bankruptcy is not an issue that resonates with Vietnamese voters, so with this mailer from Wagner, Moorlach will need to respond with his own Vietnamese outreach.

The three candidates in the SD-37 special election (all are Republicans): Business Owner/Assemblyman Donald P. Wagner, former Orange County Supervisor John M. W. Moorlach, and Naz Namazi

Filing has closed for the March 17 special election to fill the vacancy in the 37th Senate District left when Mimi Walters was elected to Congress. As expected, Assemblyman Don Wagner and former Supervisor/former Treasurer-Tax Collector John Moorlach filed for the seat. Unexpectedly, Naz Namazi pulled papers on the final day of filing and then filed for the seat as well.

A head-to-head Wagner vs. Moorlach race would have ended this election on St. Patrick’s Day. If Namazi pulls enough votes to prevent either candidate from breaking 50%, that would force a Wagner-Moorlach run-off on May 19.

Ballot Designations

Wagner is using “Business Owner/Assemblyman” as his ballot designation. Moorlach unsuccessfully sought “County Supervisor/Businessman” as his ballot designation, receiving “Orange County Supervisor” instead. Oddly, Namazi does not have a ballot designation. Ballot designations can be challenged in court through Monday, February 2 (a week from today).

I’ve never understood why a candidate would refuse to have a ballot designation. It costs nothing and is the one thing every voter sees because it’s right under the candidate’s name under the ballot. It’s literally the last thing a candidate gets to say to every voter (and for a scary number of voters, it’s also the first thing).

Ballot Statements (or Lack Thereof)

Wagner and Moorlach both got statements for the sample ballot while Namazi did not.

There are only two scenarios why a candidate wouldn’t have a ballot statement for the State Legislature: 1) the candidate can’t afford it or 2) the candidate plans to spend more than the voluntary expenditure limit. (For example, in November 2014, Young Kim, Sharon Quirk-Silva, Janet Nguyen, and Jose Solorio did not get statements because they all planned to spend more than the voluntary expenditure limit.)

The voluntary expenditure limit for this election is $846,000, and I think it’s pretty reasonable to assume that Namazi isn’t going to spend more than $846,000. That leaves only the logical conclusion that Namazi couldn’t plunk down the $5,376 for a ballot statement.

If a candidate can’t afford to even get the ballot statement, how is the candidate supposed to get their message out? The ballot statement is the opportunity for every candidate to get a 1/4 page message mailed out to every registered voter in the district, as it is included in the sample ballot. Any mailer districtwide would cost more than the ballot statement. Even the costs of ink and paper from printing literature on a home computer to hand deliver to every voter in the district would cost more than a ballot statement.

In a general election, it’s possible to win an obscure down-ticket race without a ballot statement because voters are exhausted from reading many seats’ ballot statements or voters aren’t paying attention to the down-ticket races. However, this is the only thing on the ballot; there is no down-ticket. Anyone turning out for this election is turning out solely for the Senate race. Plus, it’s a special election, and special election voters are far more likely to read the sample ballot than general election voters.

Who is Namazi?

Namazi was a paid staffer on Congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s re-election campaigns in 2012 and 2014. She also purportedly joined Rohrabacher’s Congressional staff earlier this month. She has been a licensed real estate salesperson for 1 year, 8 months (since May 2013).

As I live blogged two years ago at the January 2013 OCGOP Central Committee meeting, Namazi received the Anna Woods Memorial HQ Volunteer of the Year Award for her efforts in the 2012 election at the OCGOP headquarters in Tustin and the OCGOP office in Huntington Beach. (Ironically, as the highest-ranking elected official present at that meeting, Wagner helped present all of the volunteer awards, including the one to Namazi.)

Born in Pakistan, the 47-year-old Namazi had been registered to vote at her Laguna Niguel residence for 20 years but recently reregistered to vote in Irvine in the two-bedroom residence of 64-year-old Julie Tanha. Property records do not show that Namazi has given up her residence in Laguna Niguel nor acquired Tanha’s residence in Irvine. Laguna Niguel is in the 36th Senate District while Irvine is in the 37th.

Born in Pennsylvania, the 54-year-old Wagner has been registered to vote at his Irvine residence for 23 years. Wagner has been a licensed attorney since 1987, an Assemblyman since 2010, and was a community college district trustee from 1998-2010.

Born in the Netherlands, the 59-year-old Moorlach has been registered to vote at his Costa Mesa residence for 12 years. Moorlach’s CPA license was issued in 1980 but is currently inactive; he was a County Supervisor from 2007-2015 and the County Treasurer-Tax Collector from 1995-2007.

Decoy Candidate?

Ordinarily, a candidate who pulls papers on the last day of filing, recently reregistered from a longtime out-of-district residence to an in-district residence, has no ballot designation, and has no ballot statement would have all the red flags of being a decoy candidate.

However, there is one big gaping hole in the decoy theory: who actually benefits from Namazi’s candidacy? Unless she starts hitting either Wagner or Moorlach, there is no obvious beneficiary of her candidacy. There is no reason to see how she would draw from more from one candidate or the other: her name isn’t similar to either Wagner or Moorlach, she doesn’t have a similar ballot designation to either Wagner or Moorlach, she’s a woman while the other two are men (indeed, her name doesn’t even make her gender obvious), she has an Iranian name while Wagner and Moorlach have European names, etc. Now, if Namazi starts campaigning heavily against one of the two major candidates, then the decoy theory is worth another look.

Who Will Campaign to Democrats?

It had long been thought that Wagner and Moorlach would try to outflank each other on the right to win the safely Republican SD-37, but with the Democrats failing to field a candidate (and indeed, no non-Republican candidate filing at all), which one will attempt to win over Democrats? Or will both attempt it? It will be a delicate balancing act trying to hang on to Republicans and grabbing Democrats. 28.6% of SD-37 voters are Democrats. It’s a huge voting bloc. If one candidate goes for the Democrats but the other does not, the Democrats could well determine the result of the election. (Leslie Daigle missed her chance; this race was tailor-made for her!) However, it’s still a staunchly Republican district; tilting too far left could cost too many votes on the right.

The riskiest strategy would be sending a hit piece to Democrats accusing the opponent of being too conservative, as the target of that hit piece would presumably quickly send a piece to Republicans: “Look! My opponent says I’m more conservative than he is!”

Of course, there is the ever safe strategy of non-substantive messaging, along the lines of “Democrats Trust John Moorlach” or “Democrats Support Don Wagner” without any political stances included whatsoever.

Full Text of Ballot Statements

Wagner’s ballot statement is below:

As an Assemblyman since 2010, I’ve been a proven, principled conservative voice in Sacramento. That’s why I’m endorsed for State Senate by our conservative Congressman Ed Royce and Congresswoman Mimi Walters.

As Senator, I’ll strongly support a balanced budget, with no new taxes. I’ve fought to eliminate the $500 billion “wall of debt” that liberal politicians have created and plan to leave to our children. I signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” to never vote to raise your taxes and am endorsed by the OCTaxpayers Association.

My fiscal credentials aren’t just talk. I have real experience balancing government budgets – as President of a local Community College District I balanced every budget and paid off all debts, without raising taxes. It can be done.

I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. I’ve been a leader in demanding that Washington secure our border and compensate California taxpayers for the enormous costs of illegal immigration. I’m on record strongly opposing President Obama’s actions to grant amnesty.

As a small business owner myself, I experienced how overregulation and over-taxation stifle business success and economic growth. That’s why I’ve worked to get government off the backs of business owners. And that’s why I’ve been endorsed by the California Small Business Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

I’ve been leading the fight for conservative values in Sacramento, not just talking about them from afar. I pledge to use my experience and proven conservative record to keep up that fight for responsive, responsible, limited government.

Moorlach’s ballot statement is below:

I will fight to end unnecessary government spending and reduce debts. I oppose raising tax rates and I believe government must be lean, efficient, and live within its means.

I began my career as a CPA and Certified Financial Planner. I believe government spending requires sound planning and must stand firm against pressures from special interests.

California has an unrestricted net deficit of $124 billion and is 46th out of 50 states in financial status! Billions in underfunded public employee pensions is one of our biggest threats. As a County Supervisor, I passed a ballot measure requiring voter approval on any new public employee pension enhancement.

We also renegotiated the county employee retiree medical plan, reducing the unfunded liability by 71% and saving Orange County taxpayers nearly $100 million a year.

In 1994, I was a partner in a local accounting firm. When Orange County declared bankruptcy that December, I was brought in to help clean up the mess. We immediately cut costs, eliminated risky investments, and put the County back on a fiscally conservative path.

In 2006, I was elected to serve as County Supervisor, where I helped to prudently guide spending through the Great Recession, thus improving the business climate. During my tenure, the County’s unrestricted net assets grew from a deficit to in excess of $300 million. Today Orange County is fiscally sound, and our economy is strong.

The Secretary of State conducted the ballot order lottery on Tuesday and transmitted the results to the Registrar of Voters, and Andrew Do was the big winner, so here’s how each candidate will appear on the January 27, 2015, ballot (assuming their designations aren’t challenged in court by December 26):

Andrew Do, Supervisor’s Chief/Businessowner

Lou Correa, California State Senator

Chris Phan, Councilmember/Deputy DA

Chuyen Van Nguyen, Television News Anchor

Lupe Morfin-Moreno, Office Specialist

Most OC Political readers are familiar with Do, Correa, Phan, and even Morfin-Moreno, but most have expressed little knowledge of Nguyen. To fill everyone in, let’s take a closer look at each candidate:

Do is a partner in a law firm who was a deputy district attorney for eight years and who served as Chief of Staff to former Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who vacated this Supervisor’s seat to become a California State Senator. As an attorney, he has served as President of the Asian Bar Association of California and the Vietnamese-American Bar Association of Southern California. He is a former adjunct professor at Cal State Fullerton and judge pro tem in the old Orange County Municipal Court. Fleeing Vietnam as a child, Do grew up in the First Supervisorial District, attending Junior High and High School in Garden Grove. He is a graduate of Santa Ana College, UC Davis, and UC Hastings.

Do was elected to the Garden Grove City Council in 2008 and served for three years. (He now lives in Westminster.)

Do’s candidacy for Supervisor is endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County, former Supervisors/current Senators Janet Nguyen and Pat Bates, Supervisor-Elect Michelle Steel, Congressmen Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher, Congresswoman-Elect Mimi Walters, and Assembly Members Young Kim, Travis Allen, Matt Harper, and Don Wagner.

Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), 56 years old (though he will turn 57 on January 24)

Spending the majority of his career in elective office, Correa was an investment banker and real estate broker before entering the State Assembly. He is a licensed attorney, though opted to go the banking and real estate route before entering politics. A native Californian, Correa grew up in the Fourth Supervisorial District, attending K-12 in Anaheim. He is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton and UCLA.

After narrowly losing a 1996 Assembly bid by 93 votes, Correa became a State Assemblyman in 1998, termed out in 2004, and then held this same Supervisor’s seat from 2005-2006. He resigned from the Board of Supervisors in 2006 to enter the State Senate, where he stayed until terming out last month. His resignation from the Board caused a February 2007 special election, only the second special election for Supervisor in Orange County history. Janet Nguyen won that special election to fill his old Supervisorial seat and now holds his old Senate seat.

Correa’s candidacy for Supervisor is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County, Sheriff-Coroner Sandra Hutchens, District Attorney-Public Administrator Tony Rackauckas, the Orange County Labor Federation (i.e. association of unions), the Orange County Employees Association (i.e. general public employee union), the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association (i.e. the fire union), and the Orange County Business Council.

Chris Phan (R-Garden Grove), 40 years old (though he will turn 41 on January 14)

Phan has been a deputy district attorney for two years. He served on active duty in the United States Navy as a Judge Advocate General (anyone remember the TV show JAG?) from 2001-2008. He was a JAG defense attorney from 2001-2003, JAG prosecutor from 2003-2005, and served generally as a JAG attorney from 2005-2008. He is currently a lieutenant commander in the Navy reserve. Fleeing Vietnam as a child, Phan grew up in Indiana and has lived in Orange County for six years. He is a graduate of Indiana University and Southern Illinois University.

Phan was elected to the Garden Grove City Council two years ago. Ironically, Phan holds the exact same seat that Do held for three years.

Chuyen Van Nguyen (NPP-Garden Grove), 65 years old

Nguyen is currently an anchor on VNA-TV (Vietnam America Television), Channel 57.3. He has previously been an aircraft parts manufacturing supervisor, marketing consultant, newspaper publisher (Tieng-Chuong), and staffer for former State Senator Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana). He was a pilot in the South Vietnamese Air Force from 1970-1975 and was a Lieutenant when Saigon fell. Politically, he was active in various Vietnamese organizations in the early 1990s. After fleeing Vietnam, Nguyen settled in Texas before eventually moving to Westminster.

In 1998, Nguyen ran for Mayor of Westminster and came in fourth out of five candidates (Tony Lam won his third election to the City Council in that same election); Mayor Frank Fry was re-elected, beating Mayor Pro Tem Joy Neugebauer by 3.5%. (He now lives in Garden Grove.) Considering his poor finish in 1998 when he held greater name ID than he does now and considering he didn’t even have the $2500 to get a ballot statement, he is expected to only play spoiler in this election by splitting the Vietnamese vote.

Lupe Morfin-Moreno (R-Santa Ana), 57 years old

Morfin-Moreno is currently an office specialist with the Orange County Health Care Agency. Politically, she is best known as an anti-illegal immigration activist and Minuteman. A former Central Committee member, she lost her Central Committee bids in both 2010 and 2012 (Central Committee members who were elected in 2012 now serve four-year terms, rather than two-year terms due to change in the California Elections Code, so the next Central Committee election is in 2016). A native Californian, Morfin-Moreno grew up in the First Supervisorial District, attending elementary, junior high, and high school in Santa Ana.

Morfin-Moreno previously ran for Mayor of Santa Ana in 2012 (coming in fourth out of six candidates), this same Supervisor’s seat in the 2007 special election (coming in ninth out of ten candidates after dropping out of the race), the State Senate in 2006 (losing the primary to Lynn Daucher, who then loss the general election to Correa), the Santa Ana Unified School District in 2002 (missing a seat by 486 votes) and in 2000 (coming in seventh of nine candidates).

Do, Correa, and Phan got ballot statements while Nguyen and Morfin-Moreno did not.

Here’s Do’s statement (assuming it isn’t challenged in court by December 26):

At the urging of many Orange County leaders, I decided to run for County Supervisor. My experience includes:

Orange County Judge Pro Tem; Deputy District Attorney; City Councilman; Small Business Owner; Orange County Supervisor’s Chief of Staff.

As a Deputy District Attorney, I spent eight years fighting to make our community safe, prosecuting violent criminals and sex offenders.

Serving as Chief of Staff to California State Senator and Supervisor Janet Nguyen gives me valuable experience and an in-depth understanding of issues facing our area. Senator Nguyen urged
me to run for Supervisor.

I have deep family roots in central Orange County, having attended Jordan Jr. High, Bolsa Grande High School and Santa Ana College. I’m a graduate of the University of California, Hastings School of Law.

U.S Representatives Ed Royce and Mimi Walters, Senators Janet Nguyen and Pat Bates, Assembly members Young Kim and Matt Harper and Supervisor Michelle Steel have all endorsed me and I would be honored to receive your vote. Please visit www.AndrewDo2015.com. Thank you.

Here’s Correa’s statement (assuming it isn’t challenged in court by December 26):

It’s been an honor to work for you as your State Senator. Now, I respectfully ask for your support as your County Supervisor.

In the Legislature, my priorities have been jobs, public safety and public education. My work has earned me endorsements from respected leaders and organizations, including:

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
Orange County Professional Firefighters Association
Orange County Business Council

I helped cut taxes on small businesses and stopped unnecessary regulations. As a result of my work, I’ve been honored by the Orange County Taxpayers Association and named the California Small Business Association’s “Legislator of the Year.”

I’ve made our schools better and safer. I brought more education money and local control back to Orange County. I also co-wrote the new law to protect our children from heinous crimes. That’s why the California School Boards Association made me their “Legislator of the Year”.

It’s been an honor to represent you during these difficult economic times. Now, I’d like to bring my understanding of our communities to work for you as County Supervisor.

Here’s Phan’s statement (assuming it isn’t challenged in court by December 26):

Embracing our diversity. Uniting our community. Serving our people!

As a former refugee, I am blessed to live the American Dream! I have served our country with honor and pride as a Navy officer for over 14 years. I am currently serving our community as an Orange County Deputy District Attorney and a Garden Grove City Councilmember. I humbly ask for your support to become your 1st
District Orange County Supervisor.

Military experience and public service taught me that our strength lies in our diversity. Orange County is truly a melting pot of culture, background, and ethnicity. As Supervisor, I will work hard to attract businesses to our District, increase employment, provide greater safety for our community, and protect our resources.

Over many months, I have walked and met many of our District’s residents. I have listened, learned, and shared many ideas with our residents so that I will be well-equipped and prepared to serve our County to the best of my ability.

Please learn about my candidacy at www.votechrisphan.com. I would be honored to have your vote and support. Together, we will ensure a brighter future for our County and forge a better tomorrow for our families. Thank you!

(Cue my usual Nguyen disclaimer: Senator Janet Nguyen and candidate Chuyen Van Nguyen are not related to each other, and neither of them are related to me. The last name Nguyen is held by 36% of Vietnamese people.)

The Orange County Register published an article scrutinizing the Assembly candidates biographies, but candidate Ling-Ling Chang education claims gets top grilling.

The view of the article is behind a firewall, which requires payment to have reading privileges.

It has been reported in previous campaign materials, publications and city of Diamond Bar website that Chang earned a degree in Biology from UC, Riverside and attending Harvard.

However, the article explains on the contrary that Chang has no degree in biology, which means she dropped out of UC Riverside and Chang explained that she is doing her studies “online” for a degree from Harvard.

Sadly, Chang offers no apologies for attending Harvard, but she should be reminded that attending an Ivy League university physically on campus is totally different than one taking courses behind a keyboard.

Unfortunately, Chang faults the inaccuracies to the City of Diamond Bar Public Information Officer, which is an insult to the professionalism of a municipal employee that is of high regard in and out of Diamond Bar City Hall.

If an Assembly candidate spends all of the time going to meetings as a councilmember on the taxpayers dime should have gone to night school and gotten a degree instead of polishing a political résumé for far too long.

It is ironic that an Assembly candidate is using SCA 5 on a campaign platform who only holds a high school diploma.

We are in a midst of a campaign season and candidates should be grilled until Election Day.

As for one candidate to embellish education claims brings bad taste who is being endorsed by high profile Republican elected officials such as Rep. Ed Royce and Senate Minority Leader Senator Bob Huff.

The voters in the 55th Assembly District deserves the truth as to who will be their next Assemblymember.

It is good to know now than with regrets for the constituents who could be stuck with a legislator for the next 2 or 12 years.

Photo Courtesy of OC Political Friend Alex Vassar, Publisher of JoinCalifornia.com and OneVoter.org, who attended the Secretary of State’s lottery in person.

I’ve had several people ask me what the candidate order for the June ballot will be.

California law requires a lottery to determine the order of candidates on the ballot. Why does this law exist? Studies of the primacy effect showed the candidate at the top of the ballot gains as much as a 5% increase in votes. Consequently, in 1975, California legislators adopted a law mandating an end to the alphabetical listing of candidates (likely to the chagrin of Sam Aanestad and Dick Ackerman but the joy of Mary Young and Ed Zschau) and requiring a lottery before each election.

The Secretary of State’s candidate order lottery has determined the alphabet for the June primary to be ROYWBMCKVTFUQPIHDAJNEXGSZL.

Nowhere was the result more dramatic than the 48th Congressional District. In all of Orange County, the candidate who came in absolutely last was Wendy Brooks Leece (R), who is challenging Dana Rohrabacher‘s (R) bid for re-election. Coincidentally, the candidate who came in first among all Orange County candidates was none other than Rohrabacher.

For multicounty Congressional seats, statewide seats, and Board of Equalization, they will rotate in each Assembly District.

Ed Royce (R) would have come in ahead of Rohrabacher if it weren’t for the fact that Royce’s multi-county district doesn’t get to use the Secretary of State’s drawing, instead using the Assembly District rotation. Since Royce has only one opponent, Peter O. Anderson (D), the two of them will flip-flop throughout the Assembly Districts of the 39th Congressional District.

For multicounty state legislative seats, the Registrar of Voters in each County does another lottery. The candidate order lotteryfor the Orange County portions has determined the alphabet to be FQMTPUSZJRIBOVCAEKNYWXHLDG.

In the 55th Assembly District, Gregg Fritchle (D) is first (with F being the first overall letter), followed by Steve Tye (R), Ling-Ling Chang (R), and Phillip Chen (R). No alphabet sequence was closer than Chang and Chen. Where C and H drew was irrelevant for Chang and Chen; it was where A and E finished that matters. This was a photo finish: A was the 16th letter drawn while E was the 17th letter. Chang and Chen also possess the two largest warchests of anyone running for the Assembly in Orange County (incumbents included). AD-55 has all the makings of a highly competitive race, and it’s almost like the candidate order lottery reflects that (though obviously the candidate order lottery’s results are just a coincidence).

On a side note, you would think that with electronic voting now, the names could be randomized for every poll voter (obviously, we’d still need the lottery for absentee voters).